The contract, which is worth 110 million euros and will be financed by French bank BPCE, will see CSIC’s Tianjin yard build the four 180m long bulkers. Each vessel will have capacity for 40,000 tonnes of dry cargo and will be capable of operating in all sea environments.

The paper reports that the vessels will be constructed using an innovative hull design, which is intended to limit daily fuel consumption to 18 tonnes, about 4 to 5 tonnes less fuel than conventional bulker designs consume. In addition, the hull draft of the vessel will only be 10 metres when carrying a full 40,000 tonnes of cargo, which will enable the vessels to enter any number of ports.

According to Gildas Maire, president of LDA Roullier, interviewed by the paper, finding new means of saving energy consumption is important in a very competitive market.

LDA Rouiller is a joint venture between Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, an owner and operator of twenty drybulk cargo vessels ranging between 20,000 to 180,000 dwt, and Roullier, an agricultural supplier for plant, animal and human nutrition.

The first ship is scheduled to be delivered at the end of 2013 with the three others following in 2014.